The Hand of God (14 page)

Todd strolled around campus with the same stupid grin on his face his dad carried on TV.  I was coming back from class when it happened.  Todd walked by me and nodded as he spoke.

“How’s it goin’ Chuck?”  No one ever called me Chuck.  I should have killed him just for that.  Once he went by, it happened.  I got lightheaded, and the whole world began to spin.  I went to my knees and into a trance.  From there, I saw everything that Todd did to Irene.  I saw him in her dorm, forcing his body on her, her screams turning into tears.  Todd being questioned by the dean, only to laugh it off with him as if they were old buddies.  The sickening feeling came over me that one day Todd would inherit his dad’s ministry.  He would be on TV preaching God’s love to people, while he himself was a sexual predator.  Unfortunately for him, I was higher up the predatory food chain.  It was in that vision that God, or whoever, showed me what needed to be done.

Todd was a star on the basketball team.  So that night, I sat down the road from the gym and waited in my 1990 Ford Taurus. I wouldn’t be using the car as part of my plan though.  Security on campus was lax since it was a private, Christian campus.  There hadn’t been a violent crime reported there in its fifty year existence.  As I’d suspected, Todd left his car doors unlocked.  I climbed into the back seat and lie down across the seat. After an hour, Todd came strolling out of the gymnasium carrying a bright colored duffle bag.   He was much bigger than me, but the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes I’d been taking last few years would come in handy.  That, and the hunting knife I got at the Army-Navy store.

Fortunately, Todd threw the duffel bag into the front passenger seat instead of on top of me.  He put his key in the ignition and started the car.  At that point, I sat up and put him in a choke hold.

“What’s up, Chuck?” I said through my gritted teeth.

“What the hell?” he grunted as he slammed his head back against me, catching me right in the nose.  I was lucky he didn’t break it.  Todd leaned back against me and pushed his feet up on the dash and hit the horn with his knee.  The sound of his car’s horn filled the air.  This was great.  He knew who I was. There was no turning back now. 

“Stop it or I’ll kill you!” I said.

“Fuck you, freak!” he yelled as my grip loosened.  I was about to lose him then it would be over for me for sure. 

“I know what you did to Irene.  I won’t let you get away with it.”

“I didn’t do anything to that crazy bitch.  She is a liar.”

“You’re the liar!” I said, getting my grip back around his neck.  “You raped her!  She got expelled right before graduation, and you go on like it’s nothing.”

“Look, I didn’t rape her okay?  She wanted it.  She was a hot spicy little piece of ass too.  She struts around here like she’s too good for everyone. The bitch needed to be shown her place.  At least she’s pregnant.  That’s all women are really put here for anyway.  Look at the women in the Bible.  It’s what God meant them to be.  Hell, I did her a favor.”  He struggled against my grip.  “Will you please let me go?  I promise I won’t report you. I might beat your ass on my own, but I won’t get you kicked out.” 

“Not a chance,” I said.  With that, he put his knee back up on the horn and pressed it.  That thing going off would attract all kinds of attention.  By this point, I was so blind with rage it didn’t matter.  I reached into my jacket and took out the knife.  He never saw it coming.  Even in the choke hold, he kept grinning as he pressed on the horn.  The smile disappeared when he saw the flash of the blade in the dim light.  I thrust the blade into his chest, then pulled it out and did it again. Blood sprayed the inside of the car, my face, clothes and everywhere.  I kept stabbing his chest and stomach over and over.  He began to make a gurgling sound as his body twitched and writhed. 

Finally, he slumped down, lifeless.  That sure hadn’t gone according to plan at all.  I made a huge mess in the process.  I spent the rest of the night taking his car out to a field and torching it, with him inside.  I changed into his clothes from the duffel bag and threw mine into a dumpster a few miles from where the car was torched.  From there, I took a cab back to campus and drove back to my dorm where I managed a few hours of sleep before class.  It may have been sloppy, but I’d completed my first mission as the hand of God.

Chapter 24

Wednesday night I arrived at the AT&T center to find people lined up outside.  Some had tents and sleeping bags, as if they’d been camping out there.  I arrived around five, a few hours before the service was set to begin.  There were people in wheelchairs, amputees and I could swear I saw a few hearses sitting in the parking lot.  Unfortunately for most of these folks, they will hand over a lot of money and come away with nothing.  I had no idea what the source of the Bishop’s power was, but it couldn’t be from God.  My own power wasn’t from God; I was still having trouble accepting that much.

After a long wait, I got inside and found my seat.  There was a giant cross surrounded by lights behind the stage.  The lights were off at the moment, but I was sure they’d be shining brightly once the show started.  Not wanting to sit for another hour, I headed back outside to stretch my legs.  I was walking around the building when I saw a caravan of huge RVs come pulling into the arena.  The biggest one said I Am the Way Ministries on the side.  The others were smaller and plain on the sides.  I figured it was the Bishop and his entourage. 

There was a large parking area blocked off by several barricades.  The RVs pulled into that section and sat for a good twenty minutes or longer.  Finally the Bishop emerged with a group of men wearing suits. As he walked toward the arena, people shouted and waved for his attention.  Some held out sick or disabled children, hoping he would touch and heal them.  The whole scene was rather depressing.  He did walk over and greet some of the fans, avoiding any of the sick children.

“Thank you, everyone, for coming out.  God bless each of you.  Thank you.” He said as he walked along the row, shaking hands. Then he got to me.

“Well, Pastor Charlie, what a pleasant surprise!” He said, smiling.  I wasn’t in a smiling sort of mood.

“Well, thank you, Bishop.”

“I gather you’ve done some thinking after our talk?”

“A bit.”

“Well why don’t you join me a bit before our service? I’d like to talk to you more, now that you’re calm.”  He gestured to one of his security guards, who opened the barricade enough for me to get through.  I stepped inside and walked alongside him.

“I’m always calm.”

“But of course you are.”  He looked around, smiled and waved some more as we entered the building.  “Oh, by the way, have you seen my former associate, Jesus?”

“I think you know the answer to that.”

He laughed as we strolled down the long tunnel.

“Yes, I’m afraid I do.” He said.

“And you didn’t resurrect him?”

“I tried.  You did quite a number on him.  Whatever you did, his brains were far too scrambled.  Some impressive work, that’s why I could use you.”

We arrived at his dressing room where another security guard held the door for us as we went in.  The dressing room was plain and unremarkable.  It just had some furniture, and a mirror with a closet nearby. At least he didn’t have some extravagant rider for his events.

“Use me for what?” I asked.

“On my ministry.  You’ve seen our work.  You’ve experienced it!”  He gestured wildly.  “Can’t you see?  The Lord is doing amazing things here!  He’s been using you, despite your appetite for blood.  He found a way to use that for His purpose.  Don’t you see?  I am His messenger, His prophet.  You are His hand, His Angel of Death.  God put His plan in motion and you carry it out.  You have no idea what you are capable of, Charlie.”  His smile faded.  “There are things happening in this world I cannot tell you about; things in the spiritual realm.  It’s all going to end soon.  Whose team do you want to be on?  Be on the winning team!  Join me!”

I had to admit, he was sounding a bit like me, except crazier.

“Okay, so why is it I hear you are out to destroy the church, and you’re not of God and you send goons around to kill preachers.”

He rolled his eyes and waved his hand dismissively.

“Oh, nonsense.  That’s just Satan trying to plant seeds of doubt to confuse God’s people.  We should work together.  Imagine the things we could accomplish!  Oh, and that preacher you think you saw me kill?  He was not a preacher.  He was a demon pretending to be a preacher.  I merely sent him back to the spirit realm.”

He was convincing, I had to give him that.  Still, something didn’t feel right.  He’d had me tied to a chair and beaten.  That was hard for me to let go.

“While it all sounds so tempting, God has always called me to work alone.” I said.  “Not to mention, you may have all this leading from God to have me join you.  Yet when I’m around you, I feel this weird, creeped out feeling.” 

“That’s just your Nephilim nature. You naturally want to oppose anything good.”

“I don’t think that’s it.  Everything in my body screams for me to run as fast as I can from you.”

His look hardened as he glared at me.

“Charlie, don’t do this.”

“I’m not doing anything.  It’s what I’m not doing.”

“You think you’re pretty clever don’t you?  Jesus said, “He who is not with me, is against me, and he who is not with me is scattered abroad.”  Knowing you the way I do, being scattered abroad takes on a whole new meaning.”

“Threats are unbecoming of you Bishop.  You’ve always been so charming.”

“Oh, I assure you, it’s not a threat.  I must go begin the service, Charlie.  Time is running out for all of you.  I beg you to reconsider.  If not, you’ll be hearing from me soon enough.”  He placed his hand on my shoulder, the smile returning.  “Now, why don’t you go enjoy the service, and be blessed.”

Chapter 25

The Bishop had really outdone himself on this service.  I stayed for a little while so I could see the bigger stage, more lights, louder music and bigger crowd.  He even had Angels among us playing, one of the most popular contemporary Christian bands in the country.  Though the highlight of the service was about halfway through, when the band played I Surrender All as some men came out of the tunnel pushing a casket on a large dolly.  They guided it up a ramp and onto the stage.  A collective breath went out of the crowd when the casket made its appearance. 

The Bishop smiled as they opened the casket, revealing a woman lying inside, wearing a blue dress.  She appeared to be in her early forties, had brown wavy hair and her hands were folded across her stomach.  I had to look at the Jumbotron to get a good look.  The crowd watched with anticipation while I had a good idea what was coming.  The music had stopped and the arena had grown silent.  The Bishop put his hand on her forehead and stroked her hair lightly as he spoke.

“No my brothers and sisters, this is not a funeral service.  Quite the opposite, actually.”  He stepped away and motioned to the woman in the casket.  “Here we have Emily Carter.  She died last night of cancer. She was only forty-two.”  The crowd let out a low murmur that sounded like “awe.” 

“However,” the Bishop continued.  “The Lord still has work for her to do.  He wants to use her for His glory.”  A few random “Amens” were shouted from the crowd.  He placed his hand back over her forehead.  “Dear Father God and our Lord Jesus Christ, we know You and only You have power over death.  Only you have conquered death.  Please Father, conquer death for Emily today.  Raise up our sister so that You might be glorified.  I ask these things in Your name, Amen.”

He removed his hand and stepped away as the entire arena continued holding its breath.  Several minutes passed, and the crowd began muttering.  I was rather surprised myself.  Had the Bishop failed?  Emily answered my question by coughing, and then shifting in her casket.  She slowly began to sit up.  The crowd roared as she sat up, looking around.  She appeared disoriented as the Bishop helped her out of her casket.  People began shouting “Praise Jesus!” and “Hallelujah!”  It was almost too cliché to be real, but there it was.